Discussion of Racism
Racism is a recurring topic throughout the book, although more prevalent in part one, that has a significant impact on Julius’ life. Immigrating to America during his later teen years, Julius endured the hardships that many other American immigrants do, including struggling to adapt into a new society in an enormous metropolis York. Instead of seeing America, at least initially, as a land of opportunity, Julius realizes the repression and racism that has been inflicted towards Africans by Americas. A traditional American symbol of freedom, Julius instead views the Statue of Liberty as “the focus of so many myths; but it had been built too late for those early Africans- who weren’t immigrants in any case- and it had been closed too soon to mean anything to the later Africans like Kenneth, or the cab-driver, or me (137).” Julius does not feel like Africans belong in society or that they are held to the same esteem as others in society. The first part of the book has many images of racism throughout the streets of New York. Julius describes the scene at a Manhattan train stop, subtly hinting at the inequality that occurs. “There were five pairs of players now, under the nave aisle to the right in this evening scene, all of them black backgammon. On the other side of the hall, under the other long nave aisle, there was another pair of men, both white, playing chess (116-117).” The divide that Julius references in this passage is the intellectual divide he believes exists between blacks and whites. Backgammon is known as a luck based game whereas chess is completely based upon thought, logic, and decision making. Although very subtly, Julius is trying to say that the two white men are more intelligent, and perhaps of higher society, than the blacks because of the choice of game that they are playing. Prior to arriving at that station, Julius had another experience involving racism with two young kids. “Hey mister, she said, turning to me, wassup? She made signs with her fingers and, with her little brother, started laughing. The little boy wore an imitation Chinese peasant’s hat. They had been mimicking slanted eyes and exaggerating bows before they came to where I was. They now both turned to me. Are you a gangster mister? Are you a gangster? They both flashed gang signs. I looked at them. It was midnight, and I didn’t feel like giving public lectures. He’s black said the girl, but he’s not a gangster. I bet he’s a gangster, her brother said, I bet he is. Hey mister are you a gangster? They continued flicking their fingers at me for several minutes (82).” This scene tries to imply the ignorance of the American youth through the children's racist act. The two young children believe that every black man is a gangster because that is what they’ve grown up with in society as a result of media outlets and deep-rooted prejudices. Examples of racism in the passage include diction relating to gangsters, “wassup”, and references to the gang signs that the children flash. Julius is nothing close to a gangster, and instead is a doctor that is helping society by improving the lives of others through medicine. Cole also paints the kids as racist in the way that they are stereotyping Asians. The straw hat is commonly associated with peasant workers in Asian countries, and the “slant eyes” are another stereotype that is commonly used in a racist or offensive fashion. The final example of racism in the first part of the book is an encounter that Julius has with another African man, a taxicab driver. When entering the taxi, Julius gives his address to the driver and says, “So how are you doing, my brother (102)?” The driver replies, “Not good, not good at all, you know, the way you came into my car without saying hello, that was bad. Hey, I’m African just like you, why you do this (103)?” This exchange demonstrates a divide within the same race, and the driver is quick to note this. The driver believes that Julius is the one being racist here, first by address him as “my brother”, and secondly by saying that Julius is casting him in a lesser light because he is an African. Julian understands the equality between the two, and had no racial intentions. This encounter is another demonstration of the ignorance of the public that Cole is trying to reference. All three passages share that same basis of a divide between races a result of ignorance. The two sets of game players sit across the room from each other, and play different games to demonstrate the divide. Basically, the two groups are doing the exact same thing and there is really no reason for the separation aside from ignorance. The two children are as ignorant as one can get, and Cole uses them to play to the racial stereotypes and prejudices that exist and are prevalent in American society today. Julius and the cabbie have no reason for conflict, and it is only the ignorance of the driver, and his quickness to “pull the race card” that serves as a catalyst for the situation. Racism as a topic is important in the book because of how many different people Julius encounters. All of them have differences and Julius is able to connect and grow from those who are not racist or prejudist, while having negative experiences with those that are. Julius does not understand or appreciate Racism, although he acknowledges its existence, and wishes that it would go away so that more people could easily connect and interact with one another.